If you are interested in meeting with an experienced colleague to discuss your questions about teaching and/or research in communication in healthcare, we are pleased to invite you to participate in the "Pairing with Colleagues" program as part of the ICCH conference in Heidelberg. This program allows less experienced colleagues to have an opportunity for dedicated time to discuss their teaching and/or research issues with more experienced persons in the field during the meeting. Though we refer to participants as juniors and seniors, this is not meant to reflect age but rather that a senior is someone who would be comfortable sharing what experience they have had with teaching and/or research in the field of communication and healthcare and a junior is someone who is interested in benefitting from this expertise and receiving some guidance in their own research and teaching questions.

Anyone attending the ICCH meeting can participate. We have set up a website which contains the names, expertise and interests of 35 colleagues who have volunteered to meet with less experienced colleagues - as you will see it is quite an impressive list of names! To participate, go to the website, read about participants and select the person whose interests match your needs most closely. Tabs at the top of the main page give you the option to view all "seniors" in alphabetical order or just those who have primary interest in teaching or research. If you click on "details" to the left of a person's name you can see more information about them. The "choose this senior" tab at the top of each senior's page gives you the option to choose to be matched with this person. Once a senior has been selected their name is automatically removed from the website (for seniors who agreed to meet with more than one junior, their name will stay on the site until they have been picked by 2-3 juniors). Juniors can only choose one senior colleague with whom to meet. Final confirmation of matches and information on how to contact your colleague will be sent out 3-4 weeks before the conference. If you have difficulty finding a match for your interests, the Pairing with Colleagues committee will attempt to assist you - there is a tab at the top of the main page for how to receive assistance.

The time commitment will be as little or as much as you like. The minimal time commitment includes communicating with your matched colleague prior to the Heidelberg meeting and finding a time that you will meet for a minimum of 1 hour during the meeting. We have set aside 2:30-4:00 on September 7 and lunch time on September 8 as times during the conference where there will be a designated room for these meetings,. If none of these times work with you and your partner's schedule you can find another time to meet. If after meeting you choose to spend more time together or continue corresponding, that is your choice.

Participants will be sent contact and profile information about who they have been matched with in early August.

Please note, if you are attending the conference and interested in signing up as a "senior colleague" willing to share your expertise and have not signed up already - you can still sign up at until July 8 at this link https://uiowa.qualtrics.com/jfe6/form/SV_2nlYbfQHhfv9nLL. Note that your name and information will not appear on the pairing website until July 12.

If you have any questions about the program feel free to contact Marcy Rosenbaum, "Pairing with Colleagues" program chair: marcy-rosenbaum@uiowa.edu. If you have any problems with opening or completing the survey, please contact Daniel-johnsen@uiowa.edu.

The Pairing with Colleagues program is overseen by tEACH, the teaching committee of EACH. Below are some comments about the benefits of the program from junior and senior participants from previous years:

"Many of the same interests; a thoughtful and thought-provoking opportunity for both of us."

"The senior colleague was very encouraging, validating my skills and experiences and their applicability to future work. The senior colleague also offered concrete suggestions and introduced me to some people at the conference."

"Getting to know someone who shares many interests with me. Feeling inspired and energized by the other's energy."

"Bravo for this initiative, from the junior perspective it was a very enriching experience."

"I learned something about the perspective of a younger colleague at a different location; I had an opportunity to share my own experiences."
"What a wonderful way to meet new/newer conference participants."